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The Importance of the Light Chain for the Epitope Specificity of Human Anti-U1 Small Nuclear RNA Autoantibodies Present in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients¹

René M. A. Hoet^2,*,, Martijn Pieffers^*, Maurice H. W. Stassen^*, Jos Raats^*, Ruud de Wildt^2,*, Ger J. M. Pruijn^*, Frank van den Hoogen and Walther J. van Venrooij^3,*

^* Department of Biochemistry, University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; and Department of Pathology, University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Abs to U1 RNA are frequently found in patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus overlap syndromes and Ab titers correlate with disease activity. We describe the isolation of the first human anti-U1 RNA autoantibodies from a combinatorial IgG library made from the bone marrow of a systemic lupus erythematosus patient. With the use of phage display technology, two anti-U1 RNA single-chain variable fragment (scFv) Abs were selected. Both high affinity anti-U1 RNA Ab fragments (K_d 1 nM) recognize stem II of U1 RNA and were derived from the same heavy chain gene (VH3–11) and the same (3r) light chain gene although somatic mutations, predominantly present in the complementarity-determining regions, are different. Experiments, in which the heavy chain genes of both anti-U1 RNA scFvs were reshuffled with the original light chain repertoire of the patient resulted, after selection on stem loop II, in a large number of RNA-binding Ab fragments. All these stem loop II-specific RNA binding clones used a similar, but not identical, 3r light chain. When scFvs were selected from the reshuffled libraries by stem loop IV, representing the other autoantigenic site of U1 RNA, most selected Ab clones did react with stem loop IV, but no longer with stem loop II. The stem loop IV-reactive Ab clones contained different, not 3r-related, light chains. These results point to a major role for the light chain in determining the sequence specificity of these disease-related anti-U1 RNA Abs. The possibility that secondary light chain rearrangements are involved in this autoimmune response is discussed.

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